Wanda Maximoff has certainly spent some time in the Marvel spotlight in the past couple of years. The character’s long comic history makes her a fascinating character and that has translated to both the big and the small screen. Now everyone either loves, or at least fears, the Scarlet Witch.
“Scarlet Witch #1″ creates a new story for the character. She has been through a lot recently, including being refused forgiveness from the mutants. Now, she’s got a fresh start and it appears to be leading to a very different type of story for the character.
Wanda is stepping away from the cosmic adventures of the Avengers and X-Men and hopefully from the mental breakdowns that wipe out scores of innocent people. Now, she’s settling down with a brand new business and trying to do some good.
With the help of Darcy Lewis, and of course her magic, Wanda is running a store of some sort while also helping those who need it most. When someone walks through “the last door,” Wanda vows to do everything she can to help them with whatever issues they may be dealing with.
Her first client takes her on an adventure to a small town that is under some kind of mind control. While this is far from the multiverse-threatening problems she has become accustomed to dealing with over the years, it’s something she can help with and that’s exactly what she needs to do right now.
This is a new grounded type of story for a character that is anything but. Wanda has the power to literally change the reality of the Marvel Universe with just a few words, so it’s nice to see her powers put to use on a much smaller scale. There are a lot of comics out there that have huge consequences and ramifications for every corner of the multiverse, but sometimes the most interesting ones only affect people like us.
It’s also nice that this new story appears to be set up as a sort of episodic procedural. Certainly, there will be a bigger story taking place over the course of the run, but it could be a lot of fun to see Wanda helping a new client with each issue. Not every new story needs to be a huge, Earth-shattering story. Sometimes it’s nice to keep things simple.
It also helps when you have a great group of characters for a new story. Of course, Wanda can carry a story on her own, but the Marvel Comics debut of Darcy Lewis is also sure to get some fans interested. Wanda also knows a lot of very interesting people as well, including her speedy brother. You never know who is going to show up next.
Which leads us to the setup for the future of this story. While it does seem as though it could follow this procedural format, the finale of this first issue does leave us with a very interesting cliffhanger. However, it still has a very intimate feel and one that is very personal to Wanda. It’s the best of both worlds.
You can check out “Scarlet Witch #1″ now.